International Congress

About LASA2010

LASA2010 / Crisis, Response, and Recovery

LASA President

John CoatsworthColumbia University

Program Co-Chairs

Javier CorralesAmherst College

Nina Gerassi-NavarroTufts University

Congress Theme

The U.S. financial crisis of 2008 quickly became a global economic crisis. It destroyed jobs,
increased poverty and disease, exacerbated social tensions, raised skepticism about the efficacy of
democratic governance, led to policy experimentation, complicated efforts to deal with global
problems multilaterally, and fueled civil and international conflict. The impact of the crisis in
Latin America has varied from country to country, community to community, even neighborhood
to neighborhood. In Latin America, the crisis was both reminiscent of previous crises but also
different, in terms of transmission mechanisms, impact, and responses. Understanding the effects
of the crisis, and the varied responses to it, calls for insights from multiple disciplines. Recovery,
when it comes, will be shaped by the way citizens, governments, and international organizations
understand the causes and consequences of the crisis itself.